84 Charing Cross Road

Suggested Reading in preparation for 3/21 Guernsey Book Discussion: 84 Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff. First published in 1970, the epistolary work 84, Charing Cross Road chronicles her 20 years of correspondence with Frank Doel, the chief buyer for Marks & Co., a London bookshop, on which she depended for the obscure classics and British literature titles around which her passion for self-education revolved. She became intimately involved in the lives of the shop's staff, sending them food parcels during England's post-war shortages and sharing with them details of her life in Manhattan. http://www.wikipedia.com/

Mystery Writer in NYC

"I think if Jane Austen were writing today she might very well be our greatest mystery novelist." P.D. James

How intriguing to explore this idea! JASNA-NY invited the New York Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America to share their ideas about Jane Austen's skill in employing ambiguity and misleading her readers. Jane Cleland and Peggy Ehrhart, MWA members and authors of contemporary mysteries, will be our speakers. Jane will set forth the essentials of a good mystery novel and Peggy will illustrate how Emma employs those essentials with Austenian irony and insight into human nature.

Both authors will be available to sign copies of their most recently published mystery novels, and those attending will solve some minor mysteries during our "talk Jane" session. Come, learn more of Austen's prowess as a mystery writer, enjoy conversation with other Janeites, and a lavish tea.

DATE and TIME: Saturday, March 28th at 2:00 p.m.

LOCATION: Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, NYC

For more information please click on the link for JASNA-NY

Ahh, we knew her when...

Congratulations to our Kate Winslet for her Oscar for The Reader. Of course, we Janeites can call her our Kate since we knew she was something else as the middle sister Marianne Dashwood in Sense & Sensibility.

Kudos also to Michael O'Connor for his costuming in the movie The Dutchess which is a cinematically beautiful retelling of the life of the Dutchess of Devonshire.

An Afternoon with Jane Austen

March 14, 2009, Wilmington, Delaware: An Afternoon With Jane Austen at the Delaware Art Museum, featuring performances of songs that Jane Austen wrote about in her notebooks by soprano Julianne Baird. Tickets are $20, $12 for members.

Beautiful Regency inspired computer screen wallpapers

The original Ackermann's Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashions, Manufactures, &c. was published monthly from 1809-1829 by Rudolph Ackermann (1764-1834) in London. Each month's Repository featured a pair of fashion plates in addition to other illustrations and articles covering a variety of topics. Some issues included embroidery patterns and fabric samples, which have provided inspiration in the creation of Regency costumes and the genteel lifestyle seen in Jane Austen film adaptations. These delicate aquatint illustrations and lovely fashions continue to delight and inspire us two hundred years later.

Throughout 2009, new desktop wallpapers will be posted each month showcasing two fashion plates: one from 1809 and the other from a different year during Jane Austen's lifetime. Enjoy a year-long tour through this popular late Georgian-Regency publication!

Please see: http://www.solitary-elegance.com/ackermann.htm

P&P set in Israel to be shown on Israeli cable

Article in New Jersey Jewish News has story about P&P having a miniseries on Israeli cable. Galilee replaces rural England, Elizabeth/Alonah is 8 years older with a teenage daughter from a previous marriage than Mr. Darcy/Nimrod. Author -Linur said "Some puritans might think my series is an abominationbut I hope not."

For more information: http://www.njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/021209/ltJaneAustenClassic.html

We just read Sanditon, here's another ending...

As an admirer of Miss Austen you must know that, at the height of her powers, she wrote more than twenty thousand words of a delightful story before ill-health interrupted. Now, another English lady has incorporated every word she penned into a complete novel which she hopes you will enjoy. The Brothers by Jane Austen and another lady by Helen Baker can be purchased as paperback or download on http://www.lulu.com/content/6033230

Happy Valentine's Day!

As early as the 1790s, sweethearts exchanged "puzzle purses." In this version, a poem runs along the edges, starting outside the folded square. The text, embellished with stamped and painted designs, is revealed in stages as the card is opened. The directions are available at MarthaStewart.com.

1001 Best Romances of All Times

Romantic Times readers have compiled a list of their "1001 Best Romances of all Times," For the link Click Here.

Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society Book Discussion

Save the date! March 21st around 1pm, we will meet at Janeite Barbara's house in Spring Lake, NJ to discuss this delightful book. Barbara also recommends reading Helene Hanff's 84 Charring Cross Road too-a quick enchanting read. More details will follow under separate cover.

NJ Flower & Garden Show

Feb 12-15 at the NJ Convention Center in Edison. Check out http://www.macevents.com/ or call (800)332-3976 for more information.

Importance of Being Earnest

Lynn Redgrave plays Lady Bracknell in the Importance of Being Earnest-a play not to be missed at the the PaperMill Playhouse in Millburn.

For more details: “The Importance of Being Earnest” is at Paper Mill Playhouse, Brookside Drive, Millburn, through Feb. 15. Information: (973) 376-4343 or papermill.org.

Jane Austen's Regency World magazine on sale

If you haven't subscribed to Jane Austen's Regency World-you are missing out. This delightful magazine comes every other month and is worth every penny, um, or should I say pound. Check out: http://www.janeausten.co.uk/regencyworld/offers/

Pride & Prejudice Trip to England for Dancers

Trip Purveyor Ken McFarland offers a very special trip to England to take in all the hot English Country Dancing Spots one might find in Pride & Prejudice. His trip will recreate Elizabeth's trip around England and include Musicians: The Pemberley Players and Fine Companions Callers: Judee Provonost, Kristine Davey, Ken McFarland. Other US callers and special UK guest callers to be added. Check out: http://www.reeljig.com/mcfarland/ for more information

Shelter from the storm

Although the umbrella was invented over 4,000 years earlier, it isn't until travel writer Jonas hanway carries one around London that British gentleman adopt the accessory (and umbrellas become known as "Hanways") in 1750.

Book Suggestion: Jane Austen and her body

Jane Austen has been thought of as a novelist of manners whose work discreetly avoids discussing the physical. John Wiltshire shows, on the contrary, how important are bodies and faces, illness and health, in the novels, from complainers and invalids such as Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Woodhouse, to the frail, debilitated Fanny Price, the vulnerable Jane Fairfax and the "picture of health," Emma. The book draws on modern theories of the body, and on eighteenth-century medical sources, to give a fresh and controversial reading of familiar texts.

http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521024990